The Magnetic Flame Epilogue: Far from Home
by PetitTeacup
Summary: UPON REQUEST! Erik hasn't seen Clara in over four years until suddenly she comes barging into Charles' mansion pleading for help in a mission that he can not refuse.
1. Return

Erik pressed his fingers to his lips as pure concentration overcame him. The chess board looked like a battlefield with scattered chess players around and on the side of the board. Most of Charles' players were gone from the panel, but his friend had him where he wanted him. If Erik makes one small move, he could lose the game but if he moves his queen, he could lose her as well. Erik sighed as he hoped for the best as the queen moved four spaces up.

Charles beamed as he took one of his chess players over Erik's, "Check mate"

"Damn it!" Erik hissed.

"You always have that tell about you, old friend" Charles shook his head.

Erik glanced up to Charles, "And what is that?"

"You always love to play your strongest player" Charles answered, "Gets the job done but it also leaves you with a losing streak"

"Losing streak?" Erik commented, "I lost just once"

"And I would love to have you lose a second time" Charles smiled, "Care for a round two?"

Erik glanced over to the clock as it read 10:37 at night, normally he would try to leave before then but he could tell Charles didn't want to get back to working on papers, even people who enjoy academics want some break time every once in a while. With a wave of his hand, the players all moved back into their corrective place. Charles smiled and scooted up and started to ponder his first move. It has been like this for four years now, Erik would come down at least once a month to catch up and play a good game with Charles before going back to Providence, still living in Clara's childhood home preferring to use the terms "keeping an eye on the house until she returns".

"So I guess this means I'm going to be sleeping in a guest room tonight" Erik stated.

Charles shook his head, "Like as if you don't enjoy it, just admit it already"

Erik rolled his eyes, "And if I do, are you going to make me a teacher at this facility?"

"Oh God, no" Charles immediately shook his head, "This mansion will turn into utter chaos before the day would end"

Erik couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "Thank you, my friend, I love the support you give off. Are you ever going to make your move?"

"Unlike you, I don't use the first play that comes to mind" Charles cracked.

Charles reached out his hand to pick up a player when an intense headache suddenly came from the core making him recoil and grab onto his head. He let out a loud groan as he could tell Erik was already by his side, asking him what was wrong. The sense of panic overwhelmed him as panic attack-like breathing labored within his chest before his mind reached the individual with this much stress.

His eyes shot open as he realized who it was and why, "Oh, God"

"What is it, Charles?" Erik asked calmly for the fourth time.

"I highly suggest that you-"

The doorbell suddenly echoed rapidly throughout the first floor, making Erik look up at the open door. He glanced back at his friend who barely seemed to be taking control of his own emotions and thoughts before Erik got up and moved a letter opener into his hand.

"Erik… no!"

"Charles!"

The sound of the voice echoing throughout the house made Erik's feet stop on the floor and his blood run cold.

Before he could have time to process if he heard the right voice or not, Clara ran into the room and stopped in her tracks as well. They both seemed stunned to see each other there as they each took the other one in. Not much has changed from Clara, her blond hair was longer but he noticed and remembered that whenever Clara was planning on visiting someone, she would dress to impress. He couldn't help but look over her clothes as he noticed a few holes where the shirt should be, there was dark soot on the corners of her face and her hair looked beyond wild. Erik turned back to his friend as he noticed that even Charles seemed just as stunned to see Clara run into the mansion like this.

"What happened to you?" Charles asked.

This seemed to snap Clara out of her daze as she turned to him, "I was attacked"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… he should've just left with the bullets in my stomach" Clara commented before she said, "Then he made the mistake of setting the house on fire"

"I'm glad to know you healed yourself" Charles said slowly, "But it sounds like you knew your attacker, what happened?"

A pair of feet was heard from behind Clara as she turned and saw Hank and Mystique walk into the room before Mystique stopped, "Clara?"

"Hank!" Clara yelled out as she ran to her friend and hugged him, "They took her!"

"What?!" Hank broke the hug and held Clara at arm's length, "Who did?"

"Nathan" Clara said with her voice as cold as metal.

Hank blinked before he said, "Nathan, are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Clara yelled out, "He pulled out a gun and shot me in front of her! He left me to die there, Hank!"

Hank nodded as he gave her a comforting grip, "Alright, alright, we'll find her, I swear it"

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Erik yelled out, " _Who_ has got _her?_ And who is this person anyways?"

Clara stiffened up as she stared into Hank's purple eyes, he gave her a looked that she knew too well. She slowly sighed and looked over to Mystique who already seemed to figure it out as she gave a worried glance over to Erik. Clara licked her lips and turned back around to face Erik as he realized she was the only one with the answers. All eyes were drilled into her as she inhaled, held it for a minute before exhaling, thinking that would make it better.

"Nathan is a man I was dating for a little over two years now" Clara let out, "This morning, I heard screaming and ran to the voice but once I got into the room… Nathan shot me. That's the only way he could take my daughter away from me"

Erik felt air lodged in his throat, he swallowed as he could see the panic and fear that was in Clara's eyes. He couldn't blame her, she loved and opened up her heart to this man and not even 12 hours ago, he took the one thing she could possibly loved in this world. His mind replayed flashbacks of the stray arrow piercing Nina in her back, knowing Clara wanted revenge.

Erik slowly asked, "Why would he take your daughter away from you?"

Clara opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find the words, she looked over to Charles who already read her mind as tears formed in his eyes. He gave her a solemn nod before she looked back at Erik who was patiently waiting for her answer.

"Because she is yours also, Erik"


	2. Cerebro

The world seemed to be in slow motion for just a moment as Erik ran his hand through his hair. He didn't know whether or not he heard correctly but the way Clara looked at him confirmed what he thought. He had a child, a child he never even knew about. He covered his mouth and slowly breathed into it as if that would help him relax. He felt like this was all just a dream and he would wake up suddenly from this cruel dilemma but nothing came.

Somehow, during Erik's coping, Charles suggested that both he, Hank, and Mystique leave to have Clara and Erik be alone. He didn't notice that they left, in fact, he just looked up and only saw Clara for a moment. Even covered in holes, soot, and dirt, she still looked the same to him as she stared at Erik. He could tell that Clara wanted to keep this a secret for as long as she could but fate had a funny way of bringing these two together again and again.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to" Clara told him, "I was sick and tired of going back and forth with you that when I figured out I was pregnant…"

Clara stopped as tears filled her eyes, "I just figured it was for the best"

"And Hank knew this whole time" Erik said as he felt his voice become rough, knowing he was under the same roof with the man who refused to tell him that he had a daughter.

"I told him not to tell you" Clara responded, picking up on his voice, "He wanted me to tell you, to come back and work for the mansion but I didn't. I wanted to raise this kid on my own and I wasn't going to have my past define me with her"

"So what changed?" Erik asked as he looked up to her, "How did this… Nathan figure out that she was mine as well?"

"I don't know" Clara sighed and shook her head, "But he's a biologist and I don't find it coincidental that he randomly took her after she started to display powers"

"She has gifts already?" Erik said, surprised.

Clara nodded, "From what I can tell, she's overloaded and short circuited electrical systems around the house"

Clara let out an airy laugh as she shook her head, "Nearly drives me mad everytime she does that"

Clara remembered how the first time her daughter did that, she was stunned to find out she was a mutant. Not only a mutant, but a mutant that displayed a power almost similar to her father's. She found it ironic and annoying how she had to make trips to the power circuit box on the daily before Hank invented a newer one to restore the electricity by itself.

Clara blinked back the tears and cleared her throat, "Anyways, we need to find her now before anything bad happens to her"

"What makes you think she's in immediate danger?" Erik asked.

Clara turned back to him as if he asked the stupidest question, "Because, she's a daughter of two mutants and one of them has shown the entire world that he should be feared. Having both of those dwelling within your blood doesn't necessarily make you go unnoticed"

Erik opened his mouth to ask her something else but Clara quickly left the room, making him trail after her. Clara didn't have to go far as she noticed the others were in Hank's school office as Charles was hanging up the phone.

Clara asked, "Who did you call?"

"Moira" Charles answered, "Hank told me his name and profession, I just figured it would be nice to know his background before we confront him"

"What would be _nice_ is if we used Cerebro" Clara told him, "My daughter is out there alone and terrified for her life and you want to make an excuse to catch up with a lost girlfriend?"

"Clara!" Mystique yelled out.

"What?!" Clara turned to her.

"You're being impulsive" Mystique told her, "It's understandable in a case like this but you need to figure out what would be the best move here"

"Our best move is Cerebro" Clara told her friend, "I haven't seen her in over 12 hours and a lot could've happened already"

Hank took a step closer to her, "Her mother is no good to her dead"

"I can heal myself, Hank"

"When you see the injury coming"

Clara let out a frustrated sigh as she ran a hand through her hair and started to pace.

Mystique chose to ignore this as she turned to her brother, "Do you want me to assemble the team?"

Charles shook his head, "Not yet, Clara is right, we have to find out where her daughter is before doing anything. Moira will come to the mansion as soon as she gets files on Mr. Essex"

"Nathan has files in the CIA?" Hank asked.

"Moira says the name sounds familiar which is never a good sign" Charles sighed, "Shall we?"

Clara didn't expect for the underground levels to look almost exactly the same as they once did, it almost felt like deja vu all over again. The last time she was down there, they were trying to look for Erik because he lost his family, unknowing that Apocalypse had gotten to him first. Clara gave a wary glance over in his direction as he continued to walk with the small group, showing no signs of thinking back to that day. In fact, no one in the group did as they all walked into Cerebro, the same model as last time. She just hoped that they would have enough luck to find her daughter and get a move on before it's too late.

"The last place she was at would be Dundee, Illinois so try searching from there outward" Hank suggested.

"Dundee?" Mystique asked, "Your hometown?"

"Yeah" Hank nodded, "Clara payed rent at my home"

From the corner of her eye, Erik stiffened up as he tried his best to not react as the lights dimmed. The familiar flash of light happened as dozens of people flew by the group as Clara bounced on her heels. She watched as it slowed down to the point that you could see everyone as Charles swam through minds upon minds to find her daughter. But the longer that it took, the more worried she became.

"We have a problem?"

Clara went up to the front, "What is it?"

Charles looked around, "I can't locate her"

A gasp hitched into her throat as she grabbed onto her chest. Did that mean her daughter was dead? Instead of finding her daughter, she was going to have to search for a corpse?

"Something is blocking me" Charles continued, "I don't know what it is but I can feel a shield over a base but not know who is inside"

"So what does that mean?" Erik asked.

"It means that if your daughter is within these walls" Charles said, "I won't be able to figure out where it is"


	3. Nathaniel Essex

Clara woke up to the sound of a class bell ringing, making her spring up from her bed. She looked around and recognized the formal setting of a viewing or guest bedroom. It easily snapped into her mind that Charles must've made her go to sleep after she demanded that they go out and search for her daughter. Anger filled her as she threw the blankets off her bed and moved to leave before she noticed a change of clothes by the chair. Clara glanced down to herself before she let out a low grumble as she grabbed the clothes and yanked them on.

By the time she walked out of her room, the day was already in full swing in the morning with students running around and getting to their classes. She remembered there was a time where she actually liked being in a room so close to the kids as they waved at her to say good morning. This time, she was in a haze, hunting for the people that she knew would have the answers. Actually, she was willing to find a familiar face and yell at them no matter who it was.

She seemed to have gotten her prayers answered when she rounded the corner and saw Mystique standing with Kurt. Clara wasn't surprised to see Mystique turn and watch Clara march over to her. Still, Mystique held her ground and stayed put as Kurt finally noticed Clara gaining up speed to the pair.

"Where is Charles?"

"He's back in Cerebro with Erik" Mystique answered calmly, "Nice to see we're still the same size"

"He's in Cerebro?" Clara asked.

Mystique gave her a look, "Of course, he is, Clara, he's been trying to locate your daughter for nearly 45 minutes now. He cancelled all of his classes for today just to focus on this"

Clara seemed stunned as Mystique turned to Kurt and nodded to him, "Assemble the team"

Kurt quickly nodded before he teleported away, Clara stood there awkwardly with her friend before a question finally popped up, "Did you tell him?"

"Just like I promised" Mystique nodded, "On Azazel's birthday. At first, Kurt couldn't believe it and then he avoided me for about three days. Whenever he would talk to me, he would ask _how could you possibly abandon a baby that looks like me in the first place?_ It tore up my heart until Charles talked with him"

"What did he say?" Clara asked.

"Not say; show" Mystique replied, "He showed the memories between me and Azazel, breaking off from the brotherhood to live a life of a happy family… until the mob came"

Clara slowly nodded as she remembered the young Mystique and Azazel teleporting back to the brotherhood, Mystique was punching Azazeal over and over again demanding that they go back. It became clear that the mob was always on their tail the whole time and the split decision was to abandon Kurt because Azazel couldn't carry both Mystique and Kurt at the same time. Mystique was so angry with him that she didn't speak to him for almost a whole month.

"Hey!" Moira suddenly ran up to them with a stack of files, "Sorry I'm late, but I had to sort through a bunch of stacks about Nathaniel Essex. Charles said to wait with everyone in his office for the debriefing"

Clara couldn't help but look down at the stack as Moira led the two women over to Charles' office, wondering what Nathan could've done to get on the radar of the CIA. When they walked into the room; Jean, Scott, Peter, Kurt, and Hank were all in there.

"Are those all on him?" Clara asked.

"From what I could gather" Moira placed the folders down, "It's very challenging but I'm hoping that my theory is wrong"

Hank folded his arms over his chest, "What theory would that be?"

Moira turned to him just as Erik and Charles came into the room, "Excellent, we're all here. Moira, tell us what you found out"

Moira glanced over to Charles as she seemed to hesitate before slowly kneeling down to the coffee table and opening up the files.

"There's no way of getting around this so I will just say it bluntly" Moira sighed, "Nathaniel Essex was a biologist who seemed fascinated by mutants but didn't feel the need to experiment on them, until he bumped into Bolivar Trask. Trask showed him his research which fueled Essex to to take his fascination to the worst as he became a partner in kidnapping, experimenting, and killing mutants. There was a difference between Trask and Essex, though, Trask wanted all mutants but not Essex. It seemed during Essex's operation, he had only one select group in mind"

"What group would that be?"

Moira slowly turned to Clara and lifted up five photos to her. She took them and immediately gasped as her hands started to shake. The pictures were a picture of a wall strewn with news clippings and photos of the brotherhood. Clara immediately recognized nearly all of the protests they did as she flipped through the pictures to see hundreds of them lined on a wall. Mystique walked up to her friend and took some photos as she too became just as shocked.

"The brotherhood of evil mutants. He's been following you all ever since the beginning" Moira answered, "He was obsessed with you guys which makes me feel sick to bring this up to all of you like this. I wish it just ends here but sadly it doesn't"

Hank asked, "What do you mean?"

"He's been obsessed with mutants, yes, but unlike Trask, he didn't want to eliminate any of you" Moira explained, "He wanted to become one of you. Research has shown that he not only experimented on mutants but also humans as well and when he ran out of humans… he turned his experimentation to himself"

"To make himself a mutant?" Scott questioned.

"Yes" Moira answered, "But it's no coincidence that he found Clara and took her daughter"

Moira turned to Erik and Clara, "Out of all of the pictures, the majority of the ones were of both of you together"

Clara immediately felt sick as she turned away from the group and covered her mouth with her hand. Bile threatened to erupt within her as she noticed the pictures were all seemed aimed on both Erik and Clara. In each one, Clara always looked over to him or was always near Erik in some sort of way and he loved it. She leaned herself onto the desk as she steadied her breathing, everyone speechless of what Moira found.

"I let that sick son of a bitch into my home" Clara said weakly.

"You didn't know" Hank was quick to reassure.

"No but I should have!" Clara yelled out, "I've always learned from the brotherhood to watch my back but I didn't with this one! I just let him take my daughter and leave with her!"

Charles turned to Clara, "We will find her, we're waiting for a perfect moment"

"What _moment?_ " Clara mocked.

"I've been up all night working on a new equipment" Hank explained, "Her ability is to short circuit wires so when a random building short circuits, the headpiece that Charles has will automatically connect him to Cerebro in hopes of locating her"

Clara looked over and noticed Charles was wearing some sort of small equipment around his ears. This seemed to have calmed Clara down for a moment but not all the way. Her eyes zeroed in on Nathan's face.

"So now we just wait?" Clara asked.

"Unfortunately, that's the only thing we can do" Charles sighed.

"The second something happens, let me know" Clara told him, "I have plans on burning Nathaniel Essex alive"


	4. Her Name

Clara stayed by the fireplace as long as she could. She could feel the sweat build up on her forehead as well as her back as she continued to stare into the flames, begging for a vision. The Indian Summer heat had seeped into her room but she stayed motionless to do anything to keep herself cool. She wanted a vision of her daughter, something that would tell her that she was alright. But for what felt like forever, nothing came to her, not even visions that she willed to come; she was too stressed and for her visions to work, she needed a calm mind.

Clara felt sick to her stomach as she remembered Nathan randomly coming up to her in the cafe store, asking to sit down at her table. Normally, she would've rejected but the place was packed and she even asked for a seat with a random stranger in order to get the table in the first place. The idea of Nathan watching her make that move only to use it against her almost caused Clara to throw up. She should've known better to let any random man into her heart.

She thought she heard a knock on the door but the world beyond the flames was miles away from her. When she didn't answer, Erik opened the door to immediately be greeted by stuffy, hot air. He marched over to the window and threw them open as the cool night air flooded into the room.

Erik turned to her to lecture her on not getting any air, only to see that Clara hadn't moved from her spot. He slowly made his way over to her and crouched down next to her.

"You're wasting your energy"

"I'm trying to find my daughter" Clara responded.

"We already have a plan settled in" Erik continued, "You can't keep trying to will yourself to have a vision otherwise it won't work"

"It happens sometimes" Clara pursued.

"What time is it?" Erik asked her.

Clara blinked, "What?"

"What time is it right now?" Erik repeated.

Clara shrugged, "I don't know… 4 o'clock?"

"Try 8" Erik told her.

"What?" Clara's eyes finally tore away from the flames to look at him.

At first, she couldn't see anything from hours upon hours of staring into the bright flames until she realized that the reason why she couldn't see was because it was already dark.

"Holy crap!" Clara let out.

"Give your eyes a rest" Erik told her as he turned to the fireplace, "And let Charles find her for you"

Erik took a glass of water from behind him and poured it over the flames as they hissed at Erik with their last dying breath. Now that the flames were gone, Clara could feel a headache that was throbbing for God knows how many hours. In the darkness, Erik took her gently by the arms and guided her in the dark to a couch. She waited a couple of seconds before a lamp from behind her turned on. Erik came and joined her on the couch, elbows resting on his knees as he looked down at his hands.

"You should've told me"

"I know" Clara whispered, "But it was too soon"

"Too soon for what?" Erik asked.

"You just lost your wife and child, I didn't want you to feel overwhelmed" Clara muttered.

Erik scoffed, "I'd rather feel overwhelmed than in the constant sorrow I found myself in"

They were quiet for a few moments before Erik said, "It was because of me crying, wasn't it? You left because I burst into tears after we had sex"

"Not really what I was expecting after that moment" Clara admitted.

"I should've known that you would turn to Hank for help" Erik shook his head, "You both were always so close"

Clara defended him, "Hank was only doing that to protect me… I told him not to tell you and he listened"

They stayed quiet for a while, not really in awkward silence but also not so comforting as well, Erik let out in a low voice, "You never once told me her name. If I have a daughter for four years… I would like to know her name"

Clara felt her heartbeat lodged in her throat as she just realized that both she and Hank never once said her name. No wonder everything went by so smoothly, well, as smoothly as it could possibly get for them. Now she wished that she could bring up her daughter's middle name but Clara never calls her by that name. Erik is her father and he deserves to know what Clara named her.

"Erica" Clara told him, "Her name is Erica Melanie Sloan"

Erik placed his hands over his mouth, closed his eyes and breathed into them. He felt a tear slide down his fingertips, the name probably taking a deeper blow then finding out he had a daughter. He ran his hand slowly through his hair as he let the name sink in.

"I was planning on naming her something else" Clara continued, "But when I first saw her… she looked so much like you that I had to name her after you, but she's almost exactly like me in personality"

Erik couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he shook his head, "Should I be concerned about that?"

"Only when you piss her off" Clara smiled.

"What will happen?"

"She has a tendency on making all the electricals in the house short circuit" Clara answered.

Together, Clara and Erik laughed as she could see Erica clench her fists and make her pouty face whenever she didn't want to go to sleep. The thought of her daughter acting just as short-tempered as herself made Clara miss her even more.

"You were right" Clara finally said.

"About what?" Erik turned to her.

"Everything" Clara sighed, "You said we couldn't be together because we were both mutants and humans wouldn't understand because they fear us. Now a man who's been our biggest fan has our daughter"

"We will get her back" Erik said firmly.

"When?" Clara turned to him, "You know as well as I do that sitting around isn't going to do anything. I know what you're trying to do but that's not _you,_ Erik. The Erik I know would've raised hell to find one of his own kind, especially if it was his daughter. Sitting around isn't doing any of us good and you know it"

Erik couldn't help but admit that Clara was right as he looked down to his number inscription tattoo, he was about to answer when a rushed knock came at the door and Peter ran in.

"The Professor has a location on that building!"

Clara shot up, "Does he know it's Erica?"

"I'm not too sure, but he's located Nathan" Peter said hastily.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Erik demanded.


	5. Impulse

The facility was a lot smaller than Clara had anticipated, guards were spread out evenly and possibly even more than what Clara could not see. Jean had tried to use her telepathy to locate Nathaniel but reported that the block was now up so whatever chances of finding him were slim to none.

"I could run in there and disarm it" Peter suggested.

Kurt spoke up, "Maybe I should teleport in"

Mystique quickly objected, "No, I think the safe bet is to have me change into one of the guards until I find the control room and give the all clear"

Hank looked past Mystique and stiffened up, "Clara? _Clara!"_

When the group turned to look at Clara, they realized that she had already walked down the path and toward the gates. The guards at the front gate didn't even see her coming before she lifted up her hands and agonizing screams came from them. They collapsed right where the stood, burnt to the ground as Clara waved a massive fireball at the front entrance. A group of guards were already charging to her as she sent a spray of fire in their direction. Her jaw was jammed tight as she continued to march into the building, not even thinking if this could be a trap.

A siren echoed throughout the halls as _intruder alert!_ Was sounded throughout the building. A range of gunshots took Clara by surprise but stopped when she realized that she wasn't even hit. She turned and noticed Erik had come in after her and stopped the bullets from being just seconds away from piercing Clara. He sent the guards crashing down the hall as Mystique and the others charged in and started to fight the remainder of the guards.

Clara turned back around and continued to head straight, burning anyone that wasn't on her side in their path. Her heart hammered out of her chest until the people became less and less. She stormed into every room, looking for either Erica or Nathaniel, she didn't care who she would see first.

But unfortunately, it was clear to her that neither him or her daughter was in the building as she stood in the last room. The lab didn't even look cleaned out as Clara knelt down and let out a defeated sigh.

A whizzing sound was heard before Peter could be seen as he took off his goggles and whipped his silver hair around.

"He's not here and neither is the kid"

"Yeah, I got that" Clara whispered.

A pair of marching feet came into the room before Clara was picked up off of the floor and spun around to meet Mystique's yellow eyes.

"What the hell was that?!" Mystique yelled out, "Do you not realize how much of a danger you put these kids in?"

"I'm looking for my daughter!" Clara challenged.

"I get that but you're not alone on this!" Mystique hollered, "You came to us, remember?! You wanted _our_ help in locating your daughter so do me a favor and don't put my team in danger because of your little impulsive decisions. Next time you do it, you're on your own!"

"That's enough!" Erik commanded.

And just like wheb they were in the brotherhood, Clara and Mystique immediately backed off of each other. Clara clenched her jaw tighter as she turned and placed her hands on her hips. She felt like crying, she wanted to throw herself down onto the ground like a baby and cry until she fell asleep. Mystique couldn't possibly know what it was like to have her child being kidnapped from her, the woman was way too powerful. If Mystique were in this situation, she would've gone on a hunt by herself.

"Erica's definitely been here" Hank said from the side, "Some of these equipment has been fried, that's probably working to her advantage right now"

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever they want to do, they want the equipment on for Erica" Hank explained, "But with Erica being constantly upset then that makes the machines overload, making them start over. It's frustrating for them but it's buying us time"

"How much time?" Clara asked.

"I don't know" Hank sighed, "And we're back to square one of figuring out where she is"

"Can you tell what they were trying to do to her?" Erik asked.

Hank hesitated before he turned back around and started to slowly walk around the laboratory. All eyes were on him, waiting for him to give them an answer but in the pit of her own stomach, Clara didn't want to know. She didn't want to know how badly in danger her only daughter was. If anything were to happen to her, she would never forgive herself.

Hank sighed, "It's nothing good"

"It never was good in the first place" Clara snapped back.

"The equipment here looks almost like they are trying to tap into her power and use it for their own will" Hank flipped through a couple of pages on a nearby desk, "They're fully aware that Erica is a second generation mutant and might think there is something special about that. Whatever Nathan thinks he sees in her, it's definitely to his own benefit"

"How did they leave so quickly?" Storm asked, "There was only one entrance"

Mystique looked around, "My guess is that the second Erica blew out the fuse, they knew Charles would be looking for them and took off when they had the chance"

"Charles would've told us if his mind was trying to make up where to go" Hank told her.

Clara turned to Peter, "Are you sure you searched everywhere?"

"About five times" Peter nodded.

Clara crouched down again and leaned her head into her hands, trying to figure out what their next move was. She felt so angry that she wanted to burn this whole place down but had to restrain herself. There had to have been a way that Nathan escaped without leaving the building.

Mystique turned to Jean, "Do any of the guards know anything?"

"No" Jean shook her head, "None of them had direct contact with Nathaniel and received orders from one guard who seems to be the only one who talks to him"

Cyclops spoke up, "Great! Let's find that one and see what he said to him"

"I can't"

"Why not?"

"Because he's dead" Jean said in a low voice, "Burned alive"

Mystique could be heard letting out a frustrated sigh as she tried her best not to turn on her friend. Clara was already going through enough, she didn't need everyone yelling at her about every single impulse decision she makes.

"I guess we should head on back home" Hank muttered.

"No!"

Hank looked over to her, "There's nothing for us here, we'll comb over the facility and see what we can find but other than that, I highly doubt they will be back"

"So what are we supposed to do?" Clara looked up to her friend, "Sit and wait?"

"Until Charles can find another building with the same blocking frequency" Hank answered.

Clara sighed as she slowly rose from the floor, that wasn't going to fly with her.


	6. Night Talks

By the time they all got back to the Mansion, all of the students had gone to bed which Mystique ordered her team to go do the same. Clara didn't even feel like sleeping as she only changed into PJ's and went back downstairs to the living room. She remembered the nights where she would catch up on the latest gossip while Hank worked on his experiment near her. It was probably the first thing they ever did as friends before they grew content with one another. It almost felt like a lifetime ago when she used to teach for Charles in his mansion.

She wondered what life would've been like if she had just stayed and let Erica grow up in the mansion. Granted, she would've loved being around a bunch of other children and found different people to play with. Clara could see her daughter running behind the kids as they ran laps to warm up. Being four years old, she was naturally energetic so having her mother as a physical fitness teacher would be the best possible thing for her.

Erica has asked once or twice about where her father was, Clara didn't know what to say but just simply that he was away. It always seemed to satisfy her but now she's become even more inquisitive and constantly asked and even wanted a picture of him. It was days like those where she wished she didn't keep her secret for so long.

Just as she sat down, a whooshing sound came in front of her before Peter sat down in front of her. The sudden motion had made her jump as she thought that he was asleep.

Peter only gave her a small smile before quickly leaving and coming back with two beers.

Clara only looked skeptically at him and then at the bottles before she slowly leaned in and picked up the bottle. Peter lounged around across from her before he nonchalantly picked up his own beer and took a sip. Clara did as well, actually embracing the feeling of the alcohol sliding down her throat. Beer isn't really the drink she would go for but after the last couple of days that she's been having, she accepted it. She placed the bottle within her fingertips as she stared down at the brown bottle.

"I didn't know that Charles let's alcohol within these walls" Clara started up.

Peter scoffed, "Nah, these are from the general store one mile out"

"I thought so" Clara raised it up again, "Thanks"

"No problem" Peter shrugged, "Figured that you needed it after the rough couple of days you've been having"

"You have no idea"

"At least you have us" Peter commented.

Clara shrugged, "I'm not so sure about that… sounds like I'm driving people crazy"

"Not as much as I do on a daily basis" Peter cracked.

Peter drank his beer as Clara looked around the room, loving the quietness of the big mansion. It always used to scare her whenever she watched a scary movie alone here. She once tried to watch with Hank but he kept on saying every single logical way there was in a movie. Thinking about how much fun she used to have in the mansion gave her a nostalgic feeling.

"How do you like it here?" Clara asked.

Peter nodded, "It's pretty cool, I'm the oldest one so that means no school, except for the simulations which are so awesome"

Clara smiled, "How are those simulations?"

"The teams good; we have our good days and we have our bads" Peter shrugged, "It all depends on Mystique's talks after our mission. Sometimes she's a drill sergeant and sometimes she'll be… I wouldn't necessarily say nice with her words?"

Clara couldn't help it but let out a light chuckle as she could only imagine what he experiences. Mystique can be quite hard on people and have no idea about it. She noticed as the years go on, the harder Mystique became. Clara felt that was the whole reason why Mystique would be a better leader for the X-Simulations than she ever was.

"Sounds fun" Clara responded.

"When you're on her good side" Peter admitted, "But she cares, was she like that during the Brotherhood?"

"No, when I first met her she had a soft spot for her group" Clara smiled, "Sometimes I got confused every time we went out at how harsh she acted on our raids. It confused me how one woman can flip the switch so easily but that's what I loved about her. It showed that she had a special place for me and everyone else"

"What was it like being in the Brotherhood?" Peter asked.

"Chaos" Clara shook her head, "We always were up to something horrible. Setting things on fire, stealing, making statements. We thought that the rules never applied to us and that we could get away with anything. I guess that was where we had our downfall"

"What happened?"

"We figured out that our President at the time was a mutant as well. He used his powers in the open and someone found out" Clara explained, "One of our brother's overhead the assassination attempt and we all decided to be there to stop it. We thought we got rid of them but we heard the shot before Erik could do something about it"

"And that's why he was arrested"

"Never even gave him a trial" Clara sighed.

She remembered that day, sitting at a diner as she prayed they would say not guilty on the public TV. When they filled him as guilty, everyone in the room cheered and started to hug one another. It was the day that tore her apart as she realized that would be the last time she'd ever seen Erik.

Clara finally asked, "Peter, can I ask something?"

"Go for it!"

"Did you ever tell Erik you were his son?" Clara questioned.

She didn't need an answer, just seeing his face fall told her that he didn't. He looked away slightly and played around with his little bottle. Now it was his turn to become uncomfortable.

Peter cleared his throat, "I tried to a couple of times. Sometimes I felt like he wasn't going to leave without knowing, but each time there seemed to be some sort of wall that prevented me from telling him"

"Why?"

"Because of what he might say" Peter shrugged, "I don't know how he would react whether or not he'd accept me-"

"You're my son?"

Both Peter and Clara looked up to see Erik was standing in the doorway, perfectly in the shadows so at first glance, you would never see him.

"Erik!"

"And you knew?" he turned his attention to Clara.

"I-I um…" Peter turned and looked to Clara but couldn't find a way for her to help him out, "I meant to tell you when Apocalypse took you"

"And what about the four years after that?" Erik questioned in a loud voice.

"Erik" Clara got up, "Now isn't the time to get angry at him"

"Why not?" Erik looked at her, "You denied me of my daughter and he denied me of the truth! Is this some kind of running joke?"

"Of course not!" Clara tried to reason but Erik took a step back.

Erik shook his head, "I would've wanted to know either way, I would've wanted to know the second I had a daughter and the second we built this school, Peter. I can't believe you two"

Clara opened her mouth to say something but Erik turned and walked down the hall as he made the doors slam shut. The sound was so loud that Clara jumped, stunned at so hurt he was. Erik was known to not show too much emotion and these were one of the small times that he did. She looked down to Peter who have cupped his hands over his face, clearly distraught that Erik had found out like that. Clara gave a small sigh as she sat down next to the man and rubbed his back in hopes of consoling him.


	7. Promise

Erik couldn't stop pacing in his room, he honestly felt like it was some sort of twilight zone he had fallen into. He could barely cope with the fact that he had one missing daughter and now he had a son also? Right under his very nose as well. He wished that it was some sort of sick prank that they were all playing on him and any second Peter will run in and laugh saying it was a joke. Still, in the pit of his own stomach, he knew that Peter was right.

He remembered it the first time that they actually met how he mentioned his mother knowing a man who could move metal. He should've used that as a sign but he didn't. Erik was so elated knowing that he was going to break out of prison for the first time in 10 years. He didn't think to evaluate what the young teenager had said.

And then there was the time when Apocalypse had taken him, Mystique gave a truly moving speech about having more family than he realizes. He remembered when she paused and turned to Peter, waiting for him to say something. Would Erik have listened to him if he had said that Peter was his son?

Erik didn't understand how he could've missed all of these signs from one child and now he had two. He ran a hand over his mouth as he tried his best to calm down.

Erik turned to his couch and collapsed down onto it.

The door slowly opened as he brought his head up. Clara emerged and closed the door behind her as Erik ignored her and continued to dwell in his shock. She didn't know what to do as of this point but just to stand and watch him suffer. She had just reassured Peter that she would go up and talk to him but realized that she didn't even know what to say. She was in as big of a fault as Peter was at this point.

Clara then slowly got the courage as she made her way over to the couch and sat down with him. From here, she could see he was trembling as his breathing became labored. Clara tried to keep a straight face as she swallowed hard, needing to be the strong one right now. The unfortunate thing about that fact was that she didn't know what to say or do to make him feel better.

"I must be the world's worst father" Erik whispered.

"No, you're not" Clara shook her head, "You couldn't have possibly known"

Erik scoffed and shook his head, "But I did… in the back of my head, I knew something but didn't put it all together"

Clara waited a moment, "Peter, didn't know what to say… you shouldn't be so hard on him"

"I'm not angry at him" Erik told her, "I'm angry with myself"

"Erik, please…"

"No, think about it, Clara" Erik got up and started to pace once more, "What have I done for any of my children? Peter grew up most of his life not knowing who I was, Nina was murdered for trying to protect me, and Erica is kidnapped by some maniac who wants to be us!"

"That doesn't make you a bad father" Clara justified, "We all had our reasons"

"That none of you wanted me to be around our children" Erik scoffed, "Pretty much means I am a bad father"

Clara sighed as she got up and walked over to Erik's path, stopping him from pacing. She ran her hands up and down his arms in a way to try and calm him down. She took it as a sign that it was working when Erik didn't try to walk around her and avoid her physical contact.

Clara looked up to him, "I can't speak for the others but I can tell you my own reason and it was because I was scared. I was scared that my pregnancy was too close to the time of death of both your wife and daughter, I was scared because I didn't want you to reject our daughter, and I was scared…"

Clara licked her lips and rubbed them together as Erik asked, "What else were you scared of?"

"I was scared that you would reject me and knowing that you did… I couldn't live with that so that's why I preferred that you would never know about me or Erica" Clara deeply inhaled, "I thought it was for the best"

"You thought that I would reject you because you're carrying my child?" Erik asked, "What kind of monster do you think I am?"

The question brought Clara to tears as she had to focus to make sure she didn't lose herself and cry in front of him. Out of all the women, Clara was the one who knew him the longest and yet still didn't tell him about his child.

"Like I said" Clara shrugged, "I didn't know what I was thinking"

She turned around and slowly started to walk away from him, brushing the tears out of her lashes in hopes that she didn't make it too obvious.

"And what about now?"

"Huh?"

"What about now?" Erik asked, "When all of this is over and we have Erica back, what will happen after that"

Clara blinked as she turned back to him, "I don't know… I guess I didn't think that too far ahead"

Erik fidgeted with his fingers before he finally summoned up the courage, "Would you let me see her? Would you finally let me be the father she never had?"

Clara couldn't help but chuckle, "What kind of question is that?"

Her answer made Erik act on impulse as he closed the distance between them, cupped her face and kissed her. He thought that his act would catch Clara by surprise but it was him who was surprised to find her already kissing him back. The feeling of her kiss felt like everything was burning and melting inside and around him, he never shared that experience with anyone else. The feeling gave him a longing sense as he wrapped his arms around her waist as she deepened the kiss. The connection was so intense that they both broke, panting as if they held their breath for a full minute.

"Wow"

"I can't possibly tell you how much I missed that"

"I can tell" Clara swallowed, "Almost caught me by surprise"

"Almost?"

Clara laughed, "Maybe I was hoping for it"

Erik still held her close as he whispered, "Do you ever think it could work between the two of us?"

"I always hoped it would" Clara sighed, "But then we end up falling back into the same routine"

"What if we don't?" Erik asked her.

Clara laughed and shook her head as she backed away from him, "You do realize that we always had a sexual relationship, right? So technically not falling back would mean not having sex"

"There were other factors as well" Erik told her.

"Like what?"

"Like not communicating well enough, letting emotions take the wheel every once and awhile, and learning to be vulnerable" Erik pointed out.

"You do realize that you're only pointing out the flaws of you, right?" Clara acknowledged.

Erik nodded, "Exactly, it doesn't take Hank to realize that I'm the reason why we keep on falling apart"

Clara could only scoff and shake her head as she glanced over to the door, as if Hank were standing there right now. She suddenly felt her hands being held as she turned and noticed Erik on the floor. She let out a gasp and took one step back as Erik stayed on both of his knees, looking up to her in a pleading way. Clara couldn't help but see the dire urgency in his eyes as he gripped onto her hand.

"I can make this work for us" Erik told her.

Clara bit her lip before she said, "I won't promise anything until we get our daughter back"

Erik seemed stunned that she didn't give him an immediate answer before he nodded and said, "Alright"


	8. Dark

The next day felt like a complete daze, whether it was because it has been two days and no sign of Erica or that she's had pent up anger for too long, she didn't know. All Clara really did know was that she was exhausted and starting to feel hopeless. Of course, every mother doesn't want to feel that way but she didn't know what else to do. She felt useless to the team now that both Mystique and Hank say that they're the ones that will do the investigating from now on. Clara knew she blew her chance and now she was only going to be the back burner of the team, if that.

"You're not useless"

Clara didn't even look up as Jean Grey came over and sat down in front of her former teacher. She could see into her green eyes that she had sensed her despair and probably came to find her. Clara didn't have the energy to even perk up and brush off that she was fine with a little wise crack joke. Instead, she blinked and looked out of the window as if Jean wasn't even there.

"We will find your daughter" Jean urged, "Hank is back at their lab searching for clues and Mystique is checking her connections in case anyone has heard anything"

"I know" Clara's voice croaked, "That's what they told all of us this morning"

Jean paused for a moment before she said, "Well, we got the Professor back from Apocalypse and defeated the first ever mutant. If we did that, then I believe that we can do anything"

"Then why haven't we found her yet?" Clara turned to her, "Why hasn't Charles been able to pick her up on Cerebro, why haven't we figured out their base, and why haven't I seen even a glimpse of a vision of her?"

"You're probably straining yourself" Jean said timidly.

"No, a mother is supposed to always defend her children. I'm a mutant and this" Clara lifted up her hand as a wave of fire danced around her hand, "Isn't helping anything"

Just at the glimpse of the fire, Jean jolted back and slammed her eyes shut as things in the room started to shake like a little earthquake. Clara's flames died out as she turned and noticed the students in the room were already shrieking and freaking out. She reached over and touched Jean's hand, making the teenager's eyes snap open, and everything become completely still.

"I'm sorry" Jean let out.

Clara stayed quiet as she watched Jean Grey more closely, the girl was visibly shaken from just seeing flames appear, almost as if she was afraid of it. But even before that, Clara could've sworn that she saw some sort of glimmer in her eyes before Jean started freaking out.

"What was all that about?" Clara asked.

"It's nothing… just the normal tremor"

"No, it's not" Clara disagreed, "I used to work here, Jean, your tremors only came at night when you were asleep. You were afraid of the fire, weren't you?"

Jean slowly turned and looked over to Clara as the woman stared at the teenager, finally sighing as she gave a side nod.

"Ever since what happened in Cairo, I've been feeling… different" Jean started, "I started becoming quick to get angry and my powers not only get out of control but pack more of a punch now more than ever and each time I do it… something weird happens"

Clara furrowed her eyebrows, "Like what?"

"It's going to sound crazy" Jean shook her head.

Clara rolled her eyes, "I think crazy is this school's motto"

"I feel like there's this different… personality inside of me" Jean confessed, "This other person who wants to get out and cause chaos and death like it did to Apocalypse"

"But that was for the good of humanity" Clara clarified, "You did that because Apocalypse wanted to take Charles and place himself within the Professor. What makes you think something dark came from that?"

"I don't know but ever since then my powers have changed" Jean leaned in for a hushed whisper, " _ **I**_ have changed… and I don't like it"

Clara looked at her closely before she asked, "Have you talked to the professor?"

"He tries to help but… that thing inside of me hates him… almost like they know something I don't" Jean told her.

"What could-"

"Hey"

Clara looked up and noticed Scott had come and joined them with books in his hand, he didn't seem to be concerned with Jean as he turned and smiled to her. Jean smiled back as she checked her watch and grabbed her pile of books and her backpack. _Don't tell him anything_ rang through her head as Jean got up. Clara looked up to Jean, hoping to catch her eye but Jean ignored it as she came up to Scott. He leaned in and kissed her cheek before they both waved Clara goodbye.

"Jean"

Jean turned back around and glanced at her but continued to walk as Clara got up and chased after them. She rounded the corner but slammed into someone's chest, making her take a couple of steps back. Clara mumbled a sorry as she tried to get around the person and chase after Jean but she was already gone. Her shoulders went slack as she let out a sigh, wanting to get down to the bottom of Jean's strange behavior.

"Are you alright?"

Clara turned around and noticed that she had bumped into Erik, "Yeah… just wanted to talk to Jean"

"Oh" Erik glanced around the halls before he asked, "Have you seen Peter?"

Clara blinked in surprise, "No, why?"

"Because I wanted to talk to him but I can't really find him" Erik sighed.

"Well, he probably has classes…" Clara stopped, "Except he told me that he doesn't have any"

"I wanted to apologize to him about my behavior" Erik explained, "I didn't mean to overreact and wanted to at least start off on a common ground with him but I can't seem to find him. I've been all over this mansion and no one can tell me where he is"

Clara shrugged, "Give him time? You not only found out that he was your son but he's also thinking about how you acted when you first figured out. Let him come to you"

Erik didn't really seem to like that answer but then sighed and started to let it go. He reluctantly turned back towards Clara as she too seemed to have something on her mind that she wasn't bringing up. Instead, she looked at him with pleading eyes, knowing what she was going to ask.

"He hasn't found her yet" Erik answered.

Clara scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Of course not! She made the circuits run out once, they're not going to let her do that again"

Erik furrowed his eyebrows, "What are you trying to say"

"I'm trying to say that if we want to find our daughter before it's too late, we need to find her ourselves" Clara took a step closer to him, "Brotherhood style"


	9. Blind Rage

Erik had a hard time rushing after Clara, especially when a class was recently dismissed. It was almost like some sick mind game where she was close enough but also out of reach. He didn't know if he had heard Clara correctly but from the look in her eyes, he knew what she said. It wasn't that he was surprised to hear that she suggested the Brotherhood methods, it was how she wanted to use them. Erik finally pushed through the hall, jogged up a couple of stairs, and caught up to Clara as he reached out and grabbed onto her arm.

"You don't mean that"

"Yes, I do" Clara said firmly, "We're never going to get anything done by playing by the rules"

"Hank and Mystique are out there looking for our daughter right now" Erik pointed down the hall, " _Your friends_ are looking for your daughter, trust in them"

"Exactly!" Clara screamed out, "It should be us looking for her! You and me! Father and mother looking for their daughter! Instead we have to wait until we hear news from other people about her!"

"Keep your voice down" Erik warned.

"Why?"

"Because there are students around us and you're causing attention to us" Erik said, "You don't want them to talk"

Clara made a face at him, "I don't care if they talk or not, they could tell the goddamn professor for all I care! I meant every single fucking word I said"

"Damn it, Clara…" Erik said in his dark tone.

Erik grabbed onto Clara's arm and dragged her over to his room which was a few doors down from where they were standing. He practically threw her into the room and gave a strained smile to the passing, curious teens walking by in the hallway. When he closed the door, he turned to scold Clara some more but then stopped at what he saw. Clara was sitting on his bed, elbows on her knees and hands through her hair.

Clara whispered in defeat, "How could I have let this happen?"

"You weren't aware" Erik slowly made his way over to her, "You wanted a normal life and forgot about the dangers you inflicted on others. You didn't know it back then but that made you a target for unwanted eyes"

"Seems like you know the feeling" Clara said.

Erik comforted, "I do, and that's why I'm trying with everything in my power to prevent you from making the same bad decision I made four years ago"

Clara closed her eyes as she tried to not cry in front of Erik, she could barely sleep knowing that her daughter was probably doing the same thing as she was. She felt a pair of hands gently touch her legs as she felt Erik kneel down in front of her. A tear dropped down onto the wooden floor as she sniffed, she felt the verge of sobbing just around the corner.

"I know what it's like to have your family members taken from you" Erik commented, "I had to watch my own wife and child being killed in front of me. I know that dark path, that tunnel vision you are experiencing right now. All you want is for the man to pay and you don't care how you get it done, you just do. But killing the people in charge will not be enough, it never is. You will start to feel rage on everyone and want to unleash your power upon anything"

"I stayed with him" Clara shook her head, "For two years, I stayed with him, I went on dates with him, I kissed him, I-"

Clara stopped herself and rubbed her lips together, "I told him everything except for me being a mutant and my past that involves being a mutant and he _played_ me like a fool"

"We will get our revenge on him" Erik said firmly.

"When?" Clara shrugged, "How come we haven't heard from Charles yet? I'm telling you, Nathan upped his security and that's the last time we'll here about a short fuse giving off a location"

Erik let out a sigh, "You're right and staying here isn't going to help her with anything"

"What are you saying?" Clara asked.

"That we do bend the rules a little bit" Erik told her, "But on my terms, I decide when we've gone too far, not you. Understood?"

The corner of Clara's lips slightly turned out as she said, "Has there ever been a time when it was never on your terms?"

Erik gave a little side nod of agreement as he cracked a smile for her. Clara stared at him for a second before she gave a faint smile as well.

"Do you want to kill Nathaniel?" Clara asked.

"Of course, I do" Erik told her, "For how he's making you feel helpless, how he took our daughter… he's not getting away alive for what he's done"

"I guess all that matters now is who gets to him first" Clara said, "Because I want to burn him alive so slowly that when he passes out, I'll wait for him to wake up"

Erik blinked in surprise, "That doesn't sound like you at all"

"That's because you've never met me after I had my daughter" Clara told him.

Erik slightly hesitated before he gave her a small nod in agreement but even he had to admit that he didn't like this dark side of Clara.

* * *

A woman let out an agonizing scream as Clara hovered over her. Erik stood guard as he tried to keep his eyes on the road, sensing for any metal coming down their way. He thought that Clara was just going to go through a blind path of picking and choosing a random scientist but it appeared that Clara already had a plan. She had confiscated a list of the scientist that were on the premises during the time that Erica was in the facility and was going to start with that. What he didn't expect, was for her to go and find the first female on the list and make her pay.

"Please, please stop!" the woman pleaded, "I have a husband and two daughters waiting for me at home"

Clara moved her head closer, "I have a daughter also and you took her away from me. You knew I was a mutant, superior to your own kind, and I'm sure in the back of your mind, you knew I was going to come for you the second you saw my baby girl in your office"

"He said that the mother consented" she shook, "I didn't know-"

"Consented to my daughter to be experimented on!" Clara shouted, "What kind of sick mother do you think I am?!"

"Ember!" Erik turned to her, "Get to the point"

Clara turned to Erik before she slowly turned back around, "Where is my daughter?"

"I don't know"

"You're lying"

"No, I'm not" the woman said through tears, "When the building had a blackout, he grabbed your daughter and dragged her off to another room and I didn't see him throughout the rest of the day"

A scream came from behind Erik as he turned and noticed that Clara set the woman on fire as she slowly got up and walked out nonchalantly, "The next one on the list is Dr. Jack Silver"


	10. Revenge

The door to their hideout opened as Clara flicked on the switch and walked over to the fireplace and flew a fireball into the furnace so fast that Erik didn't have time to close the door. He sighed as he knew scolding her would be pointless, she was in her own little world right now and he was just along for the ride. Erik pinched the bridge of his before he walked over to the mini bar to get a glass of scotch. It's been three days and they have been doing nothing but short interrogations and burning victims. It was safe to say that this Clara was a new Clara entirely, the brotherhood Clara only wanted to cause mayhem because she though burning buildings was fun, not humans.

He turned back around as he stared at Clara, zoned in on the flames, searching for something. Her visions have been coming back because she wasn't trying so hard to find Erica, now she was focusing her thoughts on the scientists. A tickle in the back of his head made him blink as he felt the presence of Charles wanting to contact him. Erik set down his glass and walked outside as if he was trying to get something out of the car.

" _Hello, old friend"_ Erik said.

" _Erik, what is going on?"_ Charles asked, " _It's all over the news how there are random burned people, Moira is doing her best to cover this up but these are people's lives at stake here-"_

" _You don't think I know that?"_ Erik demanded, " _Each time we find another scientist, it's like Clara doesn't hear me anymore. I try telling her to be more decisive but she just wants a bloodbath, Charles"_

" _So it's Clara who is behind all of this"_ Charles was silent as Erik could only assume his friend was feeling remorse for Clara, " _Erik, I am so sorry but if she doesn't stop this soon then I will have no choice but to send a team out for her"_

Erik closed his eyes, " _She'll kill you all"_

" _We're her friends, Erik"_

" _She's not thinking start, she's not going to stop until she finds Erica"_ Erik felt a lump in his throat as he struggled to swallow it down, " _Have you found anything new?"_

" _Unfortunately, no"_ Charles answered, " _Clara was right, Nathaniel learned from his past mistake and now I can barely get a read anywhere. He has five different facilities cloaked and I can only focus on one at a time while I'm in Cerebro"_

Erik slammed the trunk of the car down before he asked, " _Do you believe there is still hope for her, Charles? Tell me honestly"_

Charles waited a long time to speak, making Erik believe that Charles had severed the connection before his voice rang in his head, " _I believe she is still out there and that is why he is trying so hard to cover her up. He wouldn't be doing that if she were… weren't here, however, it's been almost a week since Clara's seen her and a lot of what Nathaniel could be doing to her can be traumatizing to a four year old child"_

" _That's what I feared"_ Erik turned to the door, " _I need to go back so I don't look suspicious to Clara"_

" _Remember, Erik, if she kills again, I will have no choice but to give the X-Men the green light in apprehending her"_

" _Understood"_ Erik said.

Erik opened the door to see that Clara hadn't moved from her spot, just had a notepad in her hand. He watched as her eyes narrowed in as she scribbled down random words or clues from a vision. When she was finished, she got up and grabbed her coat as if she wanted to go out.

"Come on"

"What?"

"I found out where Jack Silver lives" Clara responded, "It's not far from here"

"We just got back" Erik glanced to the clock, "It's 10:20 already, you haven't eaten anything and have been awake nearly 24 hours"

"That's because we're getting closer and closer to finding Erica" Clara told him, "I can feel it! This one knows something"

"Like the last four that _knew_ something?" Erik said, "Face it, Clara, you just want to kill"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Clara demanded, "I want to find our daughter"

I understand that" Erik told her, "But did you not hear your last victim? She had not one but two daughters and you still burned her alive"

"What I did was necessary" Clara rose up her chin.

"And dangerous" Erik finished.

Clara rolled her eyes, "Oh, I see. You get the go ahead because Apocalypse "got to your brain" about committing mass murder but when I go on a spree, you all of a sudden think it's wrong"

"Because it is wrong!" Erik shouted, "This is not you!"

"And what is me?" Clara argued back, "Someone who waits around for you to choose me as some sort of fuck buddy and is extremely cool about you leaving all of a sudden? You don't know me at all, Erik, you never gave me the chance"

Erik turned to her, "I know what I did was wrong and damn it, there are so many apologies over the years that I should write a damn book about it but that's not the point I'm trying to make. I'm trying to tell you that killing people until you are reunited with Erica is going to bite you in the ass!"

Clara rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air as she found her way over to the couch and plopped herself down. Erik moved to walk in front of her, making Clara turn her head to the side and avoid looking at him.

"When the policemen came for me, it was because of my threat against the President" Erik explained, "That was 10 years after that incident and no one has heard from me since then. I tried saving a co-worker in the evening, and in the morning the police had come for me"

Clara slowly turned her gaze over to Erik.

"They didn't care that I saved a man, they didn't care that I wasn't causing a disturbance to their country, all they cared about was the evil and threat I inflicted on everyone else" Erik told her, "Do you understand what I am telling you?"

Clara let out a sigh as she slowly nodded her head. Erik let out a breath that he felt like he was holding since he felt Charles in his head. He walked over to her and sat down next to her before bringing her in and kissing the side of her head. He felt Clara ease into his embrace, finding comfort in him like she used to before a loud knock rapidly came at the door. Erik stiffened up and glanced over to the door before slowly getting up and walking over to the noise, moving a knife to his palm.

"Who is it?" Clara whispered.

Erik turned and silently shushed her before he swung open the door.

He blinked in surprise before he said, "Peter?"

"Hey" he said, not even the least bit breathless.

"Where did you come from?" Erik asked, "I've been looking for you"

"We need to go now" Peter urged, "I figured out where Nathan has Erica"

Clara shot out of her seat as Peter said, "And he's got Beast and Mystique"


	11. Help is On the Way

The drive to the facility was quiet, Clara climbed in the backseat and in less than five minutes she fell asleep. Erik was glad to see that she had finally started to rest, he would've been concerned if she hadn't tried to rest while on the ride over there. So the only ones awake were Peter and Erik. Erik turned and looked over to Peter who had his eyes zeroed in on the dead highway, not wanting to look over to Erik. He couldn't blame him, the way Erik left things, he was surprised that he even seeked him out in the first place.

"How did you find us?" Erik asked.

"The Professor told me your location" Peter answered, "Said I would get there the fastest"

"What about the rest of the team?" Erik questioned.

Peter shrugged, "They'll be pretty pissed to know I continued the mission without them, I was only supposed to inform you and wait for the jet"

"Why didn't you?" Erik asked.

Peter was quiet for a moment before he muttered, "This is personal"

Erik looked over to Peter as he noticed his jaw had formed. He was surprised and touched to know that Peter would feel such loyalty to a little sister he never met but then again, that was the same thing that happened with Erik. The two were going to try and make up for their lost time once they got Erica back. Peter looked quickly over to Erik before turning back to the road.

"My mother's name is-"

"Marya"

Peter looked over to him, "You know?"

Erik shrugged, "You look like her"

"Surprised you remember her after all these years" Peter commented.

"Marya stands out from the rest of them" Erik answered honestly.

"Okay, ew" Peter nearly gagged.

Erik chuckled as he said, "I meant she was the first who wanted me to make a difference… I'm pretty sure she didn't mean the way I am right now"

"She had some choice words about your methods" Peter admitted.

"I knew it" Erik chuckled before he said, "I never knew she was pregnant with you otherwise I would've stayed"

"Seriously?" Peter turned to him.

Erik was serious, dead serious as he stared back at his son. Peter didn't think that Erik would even consider giving up this kind of life just for him when he was little. He always thought that he enjoyed being Magneto and terrorizing the humans.

"You thought that I wouldn't want to?" Erik asked.

"To be honest, I don't know much about you so I can't really put an opinion on you" Peter answered honestly, "I'd hoped you would if that makes you feel any better"

Erik nodded, "Thank you for saying that… I tried looking for you the next day but you weren't anywhere to be seen"

"That's because I was curious about why Mystique and Beast were going back to the facility" Peter explained, "I wanted to see if they uncovered something and quickly check it out with no one holding me back"

Erik must've looked surprised because Peter then put, "I might not have known about her very long but she is still my sister… I don't want anything bad to happen to her"

"You and me both, son" Erik responded.

Peter couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle and shook his head.

"Do you know how long I wanted to hear you say that?" Peter asked.

"Long enough" Erik answered back, "I will make it up to you, both of you… I thought I lost one child and now to know I have two others is something I won't take lightly, I can promise you that"

Peter's eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean by that?"

"Whatever you both want and need, I will provide for you" Erik explained, "You're an adult and Erica is a child so you both might want two separate things but if you let me, I will try to fill the hole I left from being absent all these years"

Peter couldn't help but give a toothless grin as his voice broke a little bit, "I think right now both Erica and I want the same exact thing… we're here"

Erik turned and looked up to the long abandoned facility that they dropped in on a couple of days ago. It looked completely different from how it did back then with people crawling all over the place and lights on in every window. Now it looked almost like a haunted house that they shouldn't have come to. He could tell that no one was planning on being there soon as Peter drove around the facility and parked in the front. Erik leaned back and patted Clara on her legs to make the woman wake up.

She scrunched up her eyes and stirred slightly before she realized that the car was now turned off. Any feelings of fatigue immediately flew out the window as Clara shot up and leaned forward to look at the building. Clara was slightly confused as to why Peter would bring them back to this place when they already ransacked it but she trusted Peter. She got out of the car and followed the two boys into the building.

Peter had spent the last couple of days in this place spying on Mystique and Beast going through inch by inch of this place to find some clues. It wasn't until they were in one of the last rooms when they were caught by surprise. As much as he wanted to help them, Peter knew the better chance at doing that was to run back to Charles and report what he saw.

Erik walked into a large office with Peter in front and Clara in back before he asked, "What are we doing in here?"

"Beast and Mystique were in this room rummaging through this crap when a man came through that machine" Peter pointed to a circular-like tube, "He seemed surprised to see them but immediately got the upper hand in the fight"

"What did he look like?" Clara asked.

Peter slowly blew out from his lips as he recalled, "Jet black hair, blue eyes, dark glasses, and was wearing a suit-"

"That's Nathan" Clara growled before she said, "But how did he get the upperhand when he's not a mutant? Especially on Mystique of all people?"

"That's the thing" Peter said, "Nathan is one of us"

"What?"

"How's that possible?"

"I don't know" Peter shrugged, "But they were both surprised when he threw them across the room with some kind of energy"

"You're saying that he came in through that portal-like machine?" Erik pointed to the equipment.

"Yes" Peter said, "And he went back into it after he knocked them unconscious"

Erik turned to Clara who stared at him before nodding her head. They all stood together as Peter tapped in the code that he saw the man do just a couple of hours ago. When he pressed enter, the machine whirred to life as it slowly turned and emitted a dark red color at the center. Peter put his goggles over his eyes as Erik and Clara looked to each other. They took a hold of each other's hand before the machine blinded them with the light before they teleported into a much bigger laboratory then the one that was at the smaller building.

A small child's voice screamed behind the trio as it said one word, "Mommy!"


	12. Sinister

Clara felt her blood run cold as she quickly turned around, her heart bursting just seeing Erica alive. But seeing Erica inside some glassed off container frightened her, especially with Nathan standing nonchalantly off to the side. Clara's hands burst into flames as she took a threatening step toward Nathan when Erik reached out and grabbed onto her arm. She turned and almost yelled at Erik for holding her back when she noticed his gaze was not on Nathan but in front of them. Clara followed his gaze to see both Beast and Mystique in glass-like coffin's passed out but upright.

"Hand them over, Nathan!" Clara yelled out, "There's only one way that this could end"

"It's not Nathan" he said, "I figured that now since we're past the point of sharing our secret lives, we should share our aliases, Ember. My name that I prefer you call me is Mr. Sinister"

"Let her go" Clara said firmly.

Mr. Sinister didn't even look fazed, "But I'm not done yet"

Clara screamed out, "She is just a child!"

Sinister didn't say anything but his eyes glowed the garnet glow that led them through the portal. At first, Clara didn't know what was going on until four more Sinister's materialized in stalls off to the side on the lower level with Peter, Erik, and Clara. If that wasn't bothersome enough, Mystique and Beast's eyes snapped open to reveal the same eyes as the other clones. Clara immediately felt uneasy as Mystique wasted no time in opening up her case and charging at them.

Within a matter of seconds, chaos ensued around them as a garnet energy was just inches from slamming into her. Clara ducked and waved out her hands to find any of the clones to burn alive. One screamed out and burned to the ground as metal levitated in the air and Peter ran around in fast speed to take care of the other Sinisters. Clara got up and marched her way over to the stairs when something knocked her painfully over to her side.

Clara grunted before looking up and her eyes widening, "Beast! It's me, Ember! Snap out of it! Nathaniel is controlling you!"

"No one calls master by that name" Beast growled, "You're an enemy"

"No, I'm not" Clara tried to push Beast off of herself, "I'm your friend!"

Beast screamed out, "I have no friends!"

"Beast, no!" Clara hollered.

Beast roared and ran his sharp nails across her throat, severely cutting her as Clara started to choke on blood. Clara set her hand on fire and moved it towards her neck but Beast grabbed them and pinned them to the sides as she could've sworn she heard Erica scream out for her. Her green eyes went wide as she watched Beast bear his sharp teeth in a malicious smile as he watched her choke on her own blood.

Before Clara could even blink, Beast was off of her as Peter crouched next to the woman and placed her hand on top of her wound. The second she felt it, warmth spread throughout her hand as she felt her fire heal her body back to it's prime self.

Clara let out a gasp as she coughed and slowly got up from the floor.

"Thanks, Peter" Clara said.

"How are we going to snap Beast and Mystique out of it?" Peter asked.

Clara shook her head, "I don't know, I'm hoping we can find a way to pin them down and focus on Sinister"

"I think I got an idea" Peter perked up.

"Be careful" was barely out of her mouth before Peter zoomed off.

Clara turned her attention back over to Sinister, the _real_ Sinister as he stayed up on the second balcony with her daughter. Erica's eyes were glued on Clara, brimmed with red as her cheeks look raw from crying so much. She wanted so much to go up to her daughter and tell her it was okay, that mommy was here with her family. Instead, she had to deal with clones, telekinesis, and energy blasts not to mention her two closest friends being under mind control. Seeing Erica still trapped in a glass prison and the real Sinister busily working made her feel uneasy.

Suddenly, she was flung back and hit her body onto the wall as she fell painfully onto her knees. She groaned and looked up to see one of the Sinister's slowly walking up to her. Clara wasted no time as she flung out her hand of fire and aimed it at the man's eyes. He let out a yell as he patted the flames out, giving Clara the advantage she wanted.

She ran up to the man and kicked him hard in the kneecap to make him fall awkwardly. Normally, she would rely mostly on her powers but seeing how much pent up anger was stored inside of her, she had nowhere else to release it but onto the unfortunate clones. Clara punched him down to the floor and kicked him in the throat before setting that one on fire.

Clara was about to move to another one when Mystique flipped over to face her, seeing her friend made Clara freeze, not wanting to fight her. Before she could try to reason with her, Mystique's eyes rolled back as she collapsed to the ground.

Clara looked to Peter, "What did you do?"

"I hit her pretty hard in the head" Peter commented, "The last movie I saw, one of the main characters snapped out of it that way"

"What if you just seriously injured her?" Clara asked.

Peter hissed, "I didn't think about that"

"You think?!"

Erik suddenly was thrown down in between the two, making them turn their attention towards him.

Clara looked to see who threw Erik down before she froze. All of the clones that they were working on killing seemed to have multiplied. They each had their smug look on their faces as the Sinster's slowly made their way over to them. Clara let out a breath as she realized that it would be completely pointless to the trio if they continued to fight them like this. They had to find a way to stop them from coming.

A whirring sound caught her attention off to the side as she turned and looked to the stalls. Each one was still in functioning order as they each had one Sinister the machine was working to clone. As Erik slowly got up, Clara gripped onto his arm and nodded to the machines. Erik looked over and immediately seemed to understand what Clara was implying.

Without a second thought, Clara waved out flames to one stall, making it explode from the heat. Erik waved his hand and crushed the other one to bits as Peter ran over and destroyed it with his superspeed.

Clara suddenly felt her feet flying off of the ground as she flew rapidly into the wall farthest from her. When her whole body crashed into the wall, Clara's vision was gone before she could even feel her body fall to the floor.


	13. Powerless

Erik was blasted back by the concussive energy from one of the Sinister clones. He was close to falling hard onto the floor when he used the magnetic field around him to lift himself back up. Erik reached out and sent a metal shard into the one that attacked him as the clone contorted in pain. The lights all around them flickered as a machine came alive, Erik heard a scream as he turned and noticed the machine Erica was in was lighting up. Erik moved out his hand to stop the machine when something overcame him and the man fell to the floor.

"Erik!" Clara screamed out, "Shut it down!"

Erik lifted up his hand but nothing came, he couldn't even sense the metal around the room, "I can't!"

"What's happening to us?" Peter looked down to his hands.

The real Sinister turned around, "It's a pain, isn't it… being human?"

Clara's eyes widened, "You didn't"

She didn't have to finish that sentence, she could even feel it within herself that her body was changing. Clara turned and noticed they had still a few more Sinister's left to kill, how could she do that when they had the advantage? Clara yelped as she dove away from an energy ball that one was aimed at her. She found a hiding spot as she peeked out to see which one of the clones was closest to her.

Her eyes zeroed in on one that was aiming for Erik, making Clara go off in a full run and tackle him to the ground. Clara found that it was only just plain luck that there was a shard of glass big enough to stab into the clones jugular vein. She drove it in as far as she could before abandoning her enemy to hide behind a desk with Erik.

Clara flinched, "There's too many of them and without our powers, it's going to be difficult"

"Not really" Erik said as he took out a gun from wherever he hid it.

Clara smiled, "You always had a thing with guns"

Erik smiled back before he looked down, "Clara, you need to be careful"

"Why?"

He nodded down to her hand, making Clara follow his gaze. It was then she realized that her hands were covered in blood.

It wasn't the blood of the Sinister clone but her own blood.

Clara must've cut her hand when she reached out and grabbed for the shard of glass. Now without her powers, she won't be able to heal herself. She remembered feeling like this as Apocalypse slowly tortured her in hopes of getting to Charles to submit, she felt vulnerable. She turned to Erik as he quickly wrapped the bottom of his torn red shirt around her hand and quickly tied it. Clara only gave a small nod before Erik turned back around, raised up his gun and started to fire at the clones.

"What is he doing to her?" Peter suddenly asked from next to her.

Clara looked up, "I don't know"

"Man, I should've gone up there when I had the chance" Peter cursed.

"Don't beat yourself up on it now" Clara told him, "We disabled the cloning machines, now we just need to kill all the clones"

"Alright"

Clara took one regretful look back up to Erica as she screamed in terror at the lights all around her. Her hand instinctively flew up but nothing happened, wishing that some sort of flame would come out was now a long shot. She ran off to the side and grabbed a letter opener off a random desk before running back to the Sinister's. There were only three left and she was planning on killing all of them herself.

A pair had Peter already pinned down as he took his time in cutting the young man's face. By the time the other Sinister looked up, it was already too late. Clara drove the knife down onto the other one's back before letting out a scream and stabbing the other one repeatedly.

She turned to finish the job when she heard a _bang_ and saw the final clone collapse to the ground. Clara sighed as she dropped the knife to the floor.

Erik went to the center of the room and fired the gun off, hitting Mr. Sinister in the arm, making the man yell out in pain.

"Shut it down!" Erik demanded.

"It's too late!" Sinister yelled out, "Her power is already being absorbed into my serum"

"You'll kill her if you do that" Peter shouted.

Mr. Sinister shrugged, "She's just a feeble annoyance, nothing special"

Clara shouted, "You bastard!"

Clara was about to take a step forward when she felt a sharp pain in her side. She let out a scream as an arm wrapped around her and stabbed her in the stomach. The knife plunged deeper before the clone did it another time before Peter pried him off of her. Erik advanced onto him and shot the clone several times until the clip was empty. A moaning groan came from the floor as he turned to see Clara bleeding on the ground.

Peter propped her up onto his lap as he tried his best to cover up the wound closest to his hands. She had been stabbed four times, one in the back and three in the front. When Peter placed a hand on her stomach, it instantly filled with blood. Peter looked up to his father, hoping that the man knew how to stop Clara from bleeding out.

Erik turned back to Mr. Sinister as the man just smirked and went back to his experiment. He knew his best bet was to get their powers back but he didn't know how to get it back. Erik turned and looked back to Clara.

Her breathing was already raspy as blood was appearing on the corner of her lips. Clara's eyes were having trouble staying open.

Clara was dying.


	14. Reunited

The warm blood soaked Erik's hand as he tried his best to keep it together for both Peter and Clara. His eyes travelled to hers as they struggled to stay open, her hands waving in a motion that would produce flames to her body. He turned back around and looked over to Mr. Sinister who didn't care about Clara's condition, only Erica in the tank. His eyes travelled to his youngest daughter as he realized that she couldn't see her mom as she craned and tried to look around them. An idea popped into his head as he reached out and grabbed onto Peter, making him jump from the sudden contact.

"Let Erica see this" Erik told him.

"What?"

"You're in Erica's way! Let her see what's happening to her mother" Erik explained.

Peter still didn't get it, "No way! She's going to get upset"

"Exactly" Erik commented.

Peter stared at his father for a moment before he slid off to the side as Erik did the same. Erica's eyes travelled downward as she saw her mother covered in blood and gasping for air. Upon seeing her, Erica's eyes turned red as she let out a scream that everyone could hear. The machines not only on the second floor that she was on, but all around Peter and Erik started to explode.

Mr. Sinister turned and blasted a concussive energy towards Erica but with a flash, she was gone and he was sent backwards. At first he was dumbfounded until he looked to the pair on the ground where Erik had stopped shards of metal hitting his family. Erica was wrapped in Peter's arms as she looked down to her mother.

"Why isn't she using her power?" Peter panicked.

Erik looked up to him, "Start a fire on her body"

"Wouldn't that hurt her?" Peter asked.

"Her element is fire" Erik explained, "Nothing can hurt her"

"Okay…"

Before Peter could quickly start a fire on Clara, Erica crawled over and placed her hands on her mother's wounds. As the little girl sobbed, Clara's blood started to reverse and go back to the wounds they escaped from. Her cuts immediately closed up as Clara let in a deep breath as her eyes shot open.

Sinister growled as he let an energy ball glow in his palms, gaining energy before flying out to the family. Erik waved up his hand to create a magnetic field when he noticed one was already made, he turned and noticed Erica was using the same motions as he would.

The blast bounced off of her shield and flew twice as fast back over to Sinister.

"No!" Sinister yelled out before the blast hit him back into a machine that had live wires.

Clara shielded Erica as the sound of Sinister's yelling filled the room before there was nothing but a collapsed charred body.

"Mommy!" Erica let out in her arms.

Clara let out a light laugh as she hugged her daughter in a big bear hug. She bent down and kissed the young girl on her cheeks over and over again, not wanting to stop. Movement made her stop as she turned and noticed Beast and Mystique slowly coming over rubbing their heads.

"What happened?" Beast groaned.

"Sinister had you under his control" Erik told him.

Mystique winced, "Why does my head hurt so much?"

Clara looked over to Peter who stiffened up and looked the other way before she said, "You must've hit it when there was a small explosion… glad to see you both are back"

"Glad to see someone else is back too" Beast smiled, "Hey there, Erica"

Erica ran over to Beast and let him pick her up and toss her up into the air. Erik couldn't help but watch the two as she reached down and hugged the blue furred man tightly. He turned his attention to Peter and gave him a clap on the back. Peter was surprised and nearly jumped out of his skin before turning back to Erik and nodding at him. A strange whistling noise came from outside as everyone looked up, Clara immediately tensing up.

"What is that?"

"The X-Men" Peter sighed, "Finally"

Mystique slowly turned around to Peter, "Were you supposed to wait for the team to come or just do some crazy solo mission?"

Peter stood still and gave Mystique a sheepish grin before Erik spoke up, "If he hadn't have done that; you both would still be under mind control, Mr. Sinister would have more mutant powers then anyone here, and Peter wouldn't have saved his little sister in time"

Erik looked over to the silver-haired man, "I couldn't have been more proud"

"Thanks, dad" Peter smirked.

Clara smiled before turning her attention over to Erica, suddenly noticing that her daughter had heard the sister part. She walked over to Erica, slowly picked her up and walked her over to Erik and Peter who both shuffled their feet in an awkward way. Erica didn't seem to know what was going on as she looked over to her mom and edged her body closer to Clara. Clara pointed one finger to each of the men as she gently introduced them.

"Erica, this is Erik and Peter" Clara whispered, "They are also your father and brother"

Erica seemed surprised as she looked from one to the other before she blushed and said, "Hi..."


	15. Learn to be a Dad

It was almost 10:30 in the morning and Clara hadn't opened up the door to her room just yet. Curiosity had gotten the best of Erik as he opened it but couldn't get his foot to step into her room like he did a couple days back. Both Clara and Erica has slept in the same bed, practically slept on the same pillow judging by how close they were. Erik actually noticed that this was his first time staring down at his daughter he never knew he had.

Erik could see why Clara would name her after him, the first thing he noticed was that Erica had the same facial features as himself. He also noticed that she had the same brown hair as himself but the straight hair of Clara. When Clara first gazed her eyes on him, her green eyes looked just as mesmerizing as her mother's did. He couldn't help but admire the perfect blend of features that Erica possessed of them both.

"You should be in there with them"

Erik nearly jumped and shushed him, "They're sleeping"

Charles watched with amusement as Erik quickly but quietly closed the door before he walked down the hall with Charles following close behind.

"I take it you haven't tried yet" Charles spoke up.

"I can't now" Erik stated, "Erica was just rescued and all she wants is her mother. They both went to sleep the second they came back and still are asleep. What do you want me to do? Go up to her and try taking her out of the bed?"

"Or try to gently wake them up and invite them to breakfast" Charles countered.

Erik sighed, "It's not easy"

"Why do you say that?" Charles asked.

"Because last month I thought I was a widower who lost both his wife and daughter while I was in an on-again-off-again relationship with someone I had commitment issues with" Erik turned to his best friend, "Now I found out that in that relationship, I got a child and not only that, a late 20 year old kid as well who's been trying to tell me his whole life but I never gave him the chance"

"You do realize you promised those two you would be a better father to them" Charles said.

"I know, it's just… how do I start?" Erik questioned.

Charles' eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"It's not like there's a binder in my head saying _When Nina was four years old, what she wanted from you was this_ " Erik sighed.

"Stop trying to compare yourself to your past" Charles told him, "You were there when Nina was born, not with Peter or Erica. Try looking at it as if these two need a father and choose you; don't force yourself to be it for them, just try to find a common ground and work your way out from there"

Erik stared at his friend for a moment before he said, "I suppose you're right"

* * *

Peter laid out on his bed, playing his video game that Beast had invented for him. A game with not only unlimited levels but a game that will try new ways to make each level unbeatable. He heard a knock on the door as Peter lifted up his chin and yelled out, "Come in!"

Erik opened the door, making Peter stop his game and sit up on the side of his bed in fast speed before Erik could say, "Can I come in?"

"Sure" Peter answered.

Erik closed the door and tried not to mind the clutter as he walked over to Peter and sat down next to him. He couldn't help but look around at all the posters that were displayed all over his walls. Erik never had the time to enjoy the music and simplicity of life, he was so obsessed with finding Shaw and making him pay for his crimes.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted when I found out that you were my son" Erik apologized, "I was-"

"Overwhelmed?" Peter finished, "Yeah, we all were"

"That shouldn't be an excuse" Erik objected, "I was looking forward to rescuing my daughter that when I found out I had a son, I should've embraced you instead of yell at all of you"

"I didn't take it too personally" Peter shrugged before he stopped himself, "I mean, I did when you first left but then Clara calmed me down before she went and found you"

Erik's eyes slowly lifted up, "Clara…"

Peter nodded, "I can tell how much she means to you, how both of you feel for each other. She knows ways to calm you down and so do you. You feed off of each other like no one I've ever seen before and it's not gross like how it always is in the movies"

"Thank you" Erik huffed, "She was one of the most loyal members in the Brotherhood… would've stayed to the bitter end if I hadn't demanded that she left me to take the fall"

"Loyal to the Brotherhood or loyal to you?" Peter asked.

Erik turned and looked to his son as he suddenly realized how Erik would always say such things to deny that Clara had such strong feelings for him.

He said to his son, "I need your help in something"

* * *

Clara laughed as she let Erica put whatever makeup she wanted on her mom. Normally, this is where she would draw the line but given the recent circumstances, Clara was willing to let it fly by. There were so many times while Erica was gone that she wished that she told her yes to little things like this. Now she got a second chance with her daughter and she wasn't going to miss out on it. A knock came at the door as Erik slowly came in with Peter in tow.

"Oh!" Clara grabbed a washcloth they were using, "Where were you guys? Charles said you both left to go into town"

"We were having a little father/son moment" Peter answered, "Can we come in?"

"Of course!" Clara said.

The two guys walked over to the miniature pink table near the center of the room and sat down. Erica rubbed her lips before she looked up shyly at the two guys that just entered. A whooshing sound happened before Peter's face was covered in the most ridiculous makeup ever.

Erica gasped, "How did you do that?"

Peter superspeed wiped off his face clean before he said, "What are you talking about?"

"That!" Erica gawked.

"Oh, this!" Peter put the makeup back on, "It's my superpower"

"To put makeup on yourself?" Erica asked.

Clara and Erik gave a light laugh as Peter pretended to be offended, "No… I can run and do things really fast"

"Cool!" Erica turned excitedly to Clara, "My brother has a superpower like me!"

Clara turned to Erik, "Your father does too"

Erik turned his attention to the metal fire grate as he levitated toward them, slowly came apart and molded into something else. Peter, Erica, and Clara watched as Erik shifted the metal into a little tiara perfect for Erica. Erica's mouth dropped open as Erik let the tiara rest on her head. Erica turned and looked over to a nearby mirror before she giggled, got up, and ran around the table and threw her arms around Erik's neck.

"I love it!" Erica said, "I've always wanted a crown!"

Erik froze within the hug as he tried his best not to shed a tear before he slowly wrapped his arms around Erica, holding her tight.


	16. Future

The next day, Clara couldn't help but watch as Peter sat down next to Erica and tried to the best of his knowledge to explain a game to her. Last night was probably the most carefree time that she had of all. After the ice was broken, it felt like a normal loving family inside a studio apartment. Peter had ran and got some late night pizza as they all prefered to stay inside the room instead of join the others for dinner. It almost felt like the world didn't matter beyond those doors because they had one thing that they all craved; family.

She was glad to know that Erica had warmed up to having the idea of Erik and Peter in her life although she didn't call them brother or dad yet, Clara knew it was only a matter of time. Clara couldn't help but think back to the night she almost died, she felt a sense of warmth coming from her stomach to the point that she thought she was healing herself. It was only when she opened her eyes, did she realize that Erica had the power not to self-heal like her mother, but to heal other people.

 _Charles smiled, "It's incredible what genes can do and create with mutants"_

" _What are you talking about?" Erik asked when they first reported about the mission._

" _Erica has a perfect blend of both of your powers" Charles explained, "She can heal like her mother, manipulate the magnetic field like her father, and assuming that she combined the two; heat up and fry electrical components"_

" _How did she know how to heal me?" Clara asked._

" _I looked through her memories and it turns out that she did it to help Nathan" Charles said, "He was out in the back in some woodshed when he accidentally cut his finger, Erica heard and went over to heal him"_

 _Clara slowly nodded, "And that's how he figured out she had powers"_

" _Through Erica being nice" Erik shook his head, "I'm glad he's dead now"_

" _Still, having gifts especially at four years old is extremely rare" Beast said before looking over to Clara, "Maybe now you will consider my offer and take it"_

" _What offer?"_

" _To come back to the school" Clara responded, "And work as a teacher once more while Erica becomes a student"_

"Have you put some thought into it?" A voice said behind her.

Clara turned to Erik, "About what?"

Erik nodded over to their daughter, "About her future"

Clara made a face, "I thought that as parents _we_ were supposed to decide together"

"I didn't think you would want me to decide her fate" Erik said not afraid to show that he was surprised.

"I made the mistake of hiding her from you and making choices without you" Clara looked over to him, "Never again"

Erik looked into her green eyes and gave her a silent nod as he tenderly reached out and touched her arm. He gave a slight nod off to the side and rose up his hand for hers to take. Clara felt her breath get caught in her throat before she took his hand and he led her over to the bedrooms. She couldn't help but revel at the touch of his rough, caloused hand in hers as he led her over to his room.

The second he closed the door he said, "Now that we got Erica back safely… where does that put us?"

"You promised that after all of this was over, we'd decide our future as well" Erik continued, "I still care for you, Clara, I always have and I feel like this was fate that I was at the mansion when you needed Charles' help. I _want_ to be a father to Erica and Peter, I _want_ you to be in my life as well"

"Where do we go from here?" Clara asked, "How do we even start without… you know"

"I don't know" Erik answered honestly, "But I walked out of your life way too many times and it needs to stop"

"What are you saying?" Clara asked him.

Erik walked back up to her and took her hands, "I want us to try this time, no thinking that this is just a casual friendship, the real deal this time"

"Erik, I-"

Before she could finished what she was saying, a necklace came out of hiding and flew up to her eye view. She couldn't help but marvel at it's beauty, it wasn't like any other ring she's ever seen before. The ring was imbedded with black diamond pendent in a silver band.

"I promised Peter and Erica that I would be whatever they want me to be in a father" Erik pleaded, "And now I'm making that same promise to you. I promise to be whatever kind of partner that you want from me. I promise to talk to you instead of packing up my bags and leaving and I will always be supportive for you. Please, Clara, I'm done running around"

Clara's eyes went from the jewel to Erik's set of grey eyes before she cupped her hands over her mouth, turned and walked a few paces away. She couldn't believe this was happening, better yet, she couldn't believe that she hasn't accepted yet. It proved to herself that now she has finally grown to not depend so much on Erik and his feelings. She turned back around at the jewel and Erik who was watching her. Clara squared off her shoulders and walked over to Erik with nothing but a serious tone behind her eyes.

"I'm not going to be in a relationship with you" Clara said firmly, "Not unless you give up on being Magneto-"

"Done"

"You will never let Erica see that damn helmet ever again" Clara told him, "That helmet has too much bad blood on it, both yours and mine. When she is older, we will tell her about the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants but _**only**_ to shine the light of how wrong our methods were"

Erik nodded, "Understood, the helmet is locked away at a secret location. I can tell you where and you can destroy the safe house yourself"

Clara was surprised as she let out, "Seriously?"

"I meant what I said, Clara" Erik told her, "I'm done running around, it's time to give you what you deserve"

Clara swallowed before she said, "Then we'll start off slow… with Erica and Peter before we move from there"

"Understood" Erik said.

He lifted up his hands, took the necklace and placed it around Clara's neck. She couldn't help but breathe in his scent at how close he was as he clasped the necklace and pulled her hair out of the way. Erik stayed close to her, staying deeply at her face before Clara lifted up her chin as Erik lowered his lips down to hers. The same burning and melting feeling happened as he cupped her face and she grabbed onto his waist. He broke the kiss and gently pet her face before he whispered out the words that Clara has always wanted to hear for years.

"I love you"


	17. Soundtrack

_**Far from Home- Five Finger Death Punch**_

 _ **I Am Machine- Three Days Grace**_

 _ **Away- Breaking Benjamin**_

 _ **The Thunder Rolls- All That Remains**_

 _ **Just Like You- Three Days Grace**_

 _ **The Resistance- Skillet**_

 _ **Angels Fall- Breaking Benjamin**_

 _ **Walk Away- Five Finger Death Punch**_

 _ **Wicked Game- Stone Sour**_

 _ **Wanna hear the soundtrack?**_ _Go to my bio and there will be a link to my 8tracks account where you'll be able to hear the album!_


End file.
